P.T. Dawkins draws on his career in the investment world as well as his unique insight into human nature in crafting his book The Analyst. Protagonist David Heart lands a job as a stock analyst at an off Wall Street investment firm. The opportunity came about for David to move from his job at a small town bank to the investment firm as a result of a family connection with the firm’s management.
David is motivated by a strong desire to make good financially so that he can provide subsistence for his widowed mother and to pay for the care of his aging grandfather.
Naive and untrained as an analyst, David is unprepared for the insatiable greed and unethical, sometimes illegal conduct of many unscrupulous operators prevalent in the financial industry. David soon finds himself verbally abused and bullied by the head trader, Blackie, and befriended, but used, by attractive Sandy Allen, an investment saleswoman with the firm. David becomes entangled in an illegal plot of extortion involving insider trading. He has been set up and is being threatened with being found guilty of felony charges for his complicity.
I found Dawkin’s characters so believable that within the first two or three chapters I was emotionally reacting with contempt, empathy, compassion, and loathing. These colorful characters, the fast-moving action, and distinctive dialogue all add up to the potential for a successful movie adaptation. (Note: as a word of caution, excessive strong language may be a distraction to some readers as well as in a movie script.)
Dawkins writes with an uncanny attention to detail to plot development as well as tying up loose ends. Along with the dark side of his characters, he develops an interesting perspective on business ethics, adds a touch of altruism, and a strong message of integrity. I found his descriptions of SEC regulations and investigative procedures informative as well as beneficial in adding a significant note of intrigue and suspense to a spellbinding plot.
Avid readers of Wall Street adventure novels should find The Analyst by P.T. Dawkins is a riveting read that is highly recommended.
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